Department for Transport

UK Advisory Forum on Ageing

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to seek the views of pensioners on (a) his Department's policies and (b) concessionary travel since the closure of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing.

Andrew Jones: Since the final meeting of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing in September we have continued to consider the priorities of older people and to consult with relevant organisations where appropriate.We are working with the Disabled People’s Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) to revamp the Department for Transport’sAccessibility Action Plan, which was initiated for the first time under the Coalition government, to meet the growth in demand for a more inclusive transport system as a result of an aging population.We have also met with the National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC) at “round table” events for the upcoming Buses Bill, and welcome engagement with all organisations representing older people regarding policies including the national bus concession.The national concession provides almost ten million older and disabled people with free off-peak bus travel throughout England, helping them to maintain their independence and remain active in society. This Government has committed to maintaining this national concession through this Parliament.

Passenger Ships: Food

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with cruise ship operators on reducing the amount of food waste generated by cruise ships.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government is in favour of reducing waste at source and supports efforts in the cruise ship sector to reduce, reuse and recycle waste including food waste.Such efforts are best led by the industry themselves in the first instance and officials are engaged with the cruise sector trade association over their work to improve the handling of wastes including food wastes.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: South Yorkshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the connectivity of the proposed High Speed 2 station in South Yorkshire to other Sheffield city region train and bus stations.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In March 2012 HS2 Ltd published Options for Phase Two of the High Speed Rail Network setting out the route and station options for Phase Two of HS2.This report sets out the connectivity proposals around the recommended South Yorkshire station at Meadowhall.In addition to this local areas are aware of the unique opportunity that HS2 presents to deliver a step change in local growth on and around the route, and have developed plans to capitalise on this. These plans include the creation of integrated proposals for improved local and sub-regional connectivity to HS2.

Aviation: Nuclear Installations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the fitness-for-purpose of the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Nuclear Installations) Regulations 2007 and their applicability to technical developments for unmanned aerial vehicles since their coming into force in 2007.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The airspace over UK nuclear licensed sites is restricted by the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Nuclear Installations) regulations 2007. These impose restricted airspace of a radius between 0.5 and 2 miles to a height of between 1000 and 2400 feet around the centre of all nuclear sites. Airspace usage in the UK is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Therefore it is a criminal offence to fly in the vicinity of nuclear sites without the permission of the CAA. The CAA and nuclear sites work closely together on this.All of Britain’s nuclear power stations are robust and designed with safety in mind and are stress-tested to withstand a vast range of potential incidents. The independent regulator continuously monitors and evaluates the safety of each plant alongside the operator to protect it from outside threats.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Ali Mohammed al-Nimr

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the case of Ali al-Nimr.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: During his visits to the UN General Assembly in September and Saudi Arabia in October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised Ali Mohammed al-Nimr’s case at a very senior level. This is in addition to the representations our Ambassador in Riyadh continues to make on this case.

Northern Ireland Office

Bill of Rights: Northern Ireland

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the effect of the proposed British Bill of Rights on Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: My most recent discussion with the Secretary of State for Justice took place on 1 December. The Government was elected with a mandate to implement its manifesto commitment to replace Labour’s flawed Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights. The Government believes this can be done in a way that is consistent with the provisions of the Belfast Agreement.

Cross Border Cooperation: Republic of Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Irish Government since the attacks in Paris in November 2015 on ensuring that the two governments share intelligence effectively on all potential terrorist threats.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The Home Office is the UK Government Department responsible for dealing with the threat from international terrorism and regularly engages with international partners.I also regularly meet Ministers from the Irish Government, including with Frances Fitzgerald, the Justice and Equality Minister, to discuss a range of issues. There continues to be strong co-operation on security between the United Kingdom Government and the Irish Government.

Counter-terrorism: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made in establishing the four-member international body to report on progress towards ending paramilitary activity connected with Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The establishment of a new body to report on progress towards ending paramilitary activity is a commitment in the Fresh Start Agreement. The Agreement provides that the new body will be established by the UK Government and the Irish Government. My officials are engaging with Irish Government officials on a treaty to establish the new body. The key provisions of that treaty will then be given legal effect in the UK through the passage of legislation at Westminster.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate she has made of the number of young people involved in (a) dissident republicanism and (b) loyalist paramilitary groups.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: My written statement to Parliament of 15 December 2015 illustrates that dissident republican groupings continue to have sufficient numbers to pose a severe threat to national security in Northern Ireland. The UK Government has allocated £160 million of additional security funding to the Police Service of Northern Ireland over the next five years in order to assist them in tackling the threat from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism.The Assessment of Paramilitary Groups published in October 2015 confirmed that all the main loyalist paramilitary groups remain in existence and that individual members continue to engage in criminality and also seek to exercise community control through violence and intimidation.I welcome the commitments contained within the Fresh Start Agreement aimed at ending paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland, including establishing a new international body to monitor progress toward that goal. The Government is working closely with the Irish Government to establish this body as part of the overall package of measures aimed at achieving a Northern Ireland society free from the malign impact of all paramilitarism.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Post Offices: ICT

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of postmasters who have been penalised as a result of the Post Office Horizon computer system.

George Freeman: Information on the Post Office Horizon computer system is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the Honourable Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Trade Unions

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which trades union groups have received (a) funding and (b) other support from her Department in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: DFID has funded the following trade union groups in the last five years:Ethical Trading Initiative (an alliance of almost 87 companies, trade unions and NGOs) in 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15.Unison in the years 2012/13 and 2013/14.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much UK aid is being provided in each region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Nick Hurd: The DRC is the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of the provinces are bigger than other DFID focus countries and there is a huge difference between the mineral-rich plains of Katanga in the south and the tropical rainforests of Equateur in the north, between the conflict-affected east and the megacity of Kinshasa in the west.Our current approach to working in provinces was shaped in 2012. At that time we decided to focus on six strategic partnership provinces – North Kivu, South Kivu, Kasai Occidental, Katanga, Equateur and Kinshasa. Of these, our greatest area of focus has been the conflict-affected east of the country, which receives one third of our budget and hosts our only sub-national office in Goma. DFID programme design also takes into account need, geographic and logistical constraints, conflict, political issues, and presence of other donors. Whilst we increasingly focussed on the six provinces, we deliberately preserved some flexibility. Some activities, for example addressing humanitarian crises, do not observe provincial borders.The regional picture in the DRC became more complex in September 2015 as the country’s 11 provinces were divided into 26, in a process called decoupage. In response to this radical change in the country’s geography, DFID DRC is reappraising its provincial focus and calculating its contribution in each province. The new approach will be set out in DFID DRC’s refreshed country business plan in May 2016.

Family Planning

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to meeting the UN targets on family planning; and in which countries such funding has been allocated.

Mr Nick Hurd: In 2014, the most recent year for which figures are available, UK spending on Family Planning was £203 million, exceeding our 2012 London Summit commitment to double our yearly spend in this area. We are currently developing our plans for the new spending review period, but in the past the majority of our country offices have had family planning programmes.Multilateral, regional and civil society funding reaches many more countries. As well as a large commitment to the UNFPA Supplies programme (£356m until 2020), DFID also supports the FP2020 Secretariat, work on shaping reproductive health markets through the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition

Central Africa: Official Visits

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when a Government Minister last visited (a) Burundi, (b) Democratic Republic of Congo and (c) Central African Republic.

Mr Nick Hurd: The then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) (Mark Simmonds) visited Burundi in April 2014. My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (James Duddridge) visited Burundi in December 2015.Ministers from both DFID and the FCO have visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DFID (Lynne Featherstone) in April 2013, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the FCO (Mark Simmonds) in April 2014, and the Minister of State at the FCO (Baroness Anelay) in October 2015.Ministers have not visited the Central African Republic (CAR) in recent years.

Family Planning

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK aid in improving access to family planning in the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: Our investments aim to reach 24 million additional women and girls by 2020. We are on track to meet this.

UN Climate Change Conference: Paris

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which form of transport she used to travel to the COP21 climate change conference in Paris; and for what reasons she used that mode of transport.

Mr Nick Hurd: I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer provided by the Secretary of State (Justine Greening) on Thursday 17 December 2015 (UIN 19532).

Department for Education

Mathematics: Teachers

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of any shortfall in the number of qualified mathematics teachers in each English region.

Nick Gibb: During the academic year 2014/15 there were 33,400 mathematics teachers in state-funded schools in England. The vacancy rate was low, with only 1.4% of all mathematics teaching posts in secondary schools vacant. Mathematics continues to be a popular subject for teacher training, with nearly 2,500 training in 2015/16. During this period we achieved 93% of our postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) target in mathematics.Each year we estimate the number of mathematics teachers we need to train using the Teacher Supply Model. This estimate is based on assumptions about pupil numbers, teaching practice, curriculum changes, and teacher deployment. The department does not hold estimates of shortfalls for teachers in any particular subjects or regions. It is up to schools to decide what teachers they need, in what specialisms and with what qualifications.Nevertheless, we realise that within the context of a strong economy, recruitment for all STEM subjects is challenging. We have continued to offer scholarships and bursaries worth up to £25,000 tax free for those candidates entering mathematics initial teacher training in academic year 2016/17. Through the School Direct (salaried) route we provide schools with additional grant funding to boost trainees’ salaries in mathematics.Furthermore, in March the Prime Minister announced a package worth up to £67 million to transform mathematics and physics teaching in England by recruiting 2,500 additional mathematics and physics teachers and providing subject knowledge training to 15,000 non-specialist serving teachers.

Academies: Curriculum

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school academies do not follow the national curriculum.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of academies that do not follow the national curriculum.Academies are not required to follow the national curriculum, but must teach a broad and balanced curriculum that includes English, mathematics, science and religious education.

Ministry of Justice

National Tactical Response Group

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) has been called out in each month in 2015; and to which prison the NTRG was called out in each case.

Mr Shailesh Vara: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 18 December 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Any violence in prison is unacceptable - especially when it is directed at our hardworking staff.We have a zero tolerance approach to violence and work closely with the police on this issue. Those who are violent could face extra time behind bars. Anyone found to have broken prison rules will be stripped of their privileges and could have time added to their sentence.The following tables set out the occasions from 1st January 2015 until 9th December 2015 when the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) has been called out to public and private sector establishments.The information does not include aborted callouts.DateEstablishment1JanuaryOnley2JanuaryNorthumberland3JanuaryThe Mount4JanuaryPentonville5JanuaryGarth6JanuaryNorthumberland7JanuaryDurham8JanuaryLancaster Farms9JanuaryRanby10JanuaryFeltham11JanuaryMorton Hall12JanuaryStyalTotalJanuary121FebruaryRisley2FebruaryOakwood3FebruaryLindholme4FebruaryMoorland5FebruaryIsis6FebruaryLindholme7FebruaryLiverpool8FebruaryDeerbolt9FebruaryDurham10FebruaryChannings Wood11FebruaryLindholme12FebruaryBrinsford13FebruaryLindholme14FebruaryWetherby15FebruaryBullingdonTotalFebruary15Any violence in prison is unacceptable - especially when it is directed at our hardworking staffWe have a zero tolerance approach to violence and work closely with the police on this issue. Those who are violent could face extra time behind bars. Anyone found to have broken prison rules will be stripped of their privileges and could have time added to their sentenceThe following tables set out the occasions from 1st January 2015 until 9th December 2015 when the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) has been called out to public and private sector establishments.The information does not include aborted callouts.DateEstablishment1MarchRochester2MarchRochester3MarchPentonville4MarchWoodhill5MarchDoncaster6MarchWhitemoor7MarchDeerbolt8MarchLeicester9MarchWoodhill10MarchHigh Down11MarchLindholme12MarchIsis13MarchWandsworth14MarchPreston15MarchWandsworth16MarchLindholme17MarchWetherby18MarchWerrington19MarchDovegate20MarchHumber21MarchLeicester22MarchSwaleside23MarchBrixton24MarchDoncaster25MarchLindholme26MarchAylesbury27MarchHull28MarchNorthumberlandTotalMarch28DateEstablishment1AprilLindholme2AprilManchester3AprilDeerbolt4AprilGlen Parva5AprilBrixton6AprilLeicester7AprilGarth8AprilNottingham9AprilLiverpool10AprilBristol11AprilBristol12AprilLeeds13AprilStocken14AprilFeatherstone15AprilWerrington16AprilDovegate17AprilBirmingham18AprilNorthumberland19AprilNottingham20AprilWayland21AprilWayland22AprilStafford23AprilWetherby24AprilManchester25AprilHumber26AprilBristol27AprilLiverpoolTotalApril27DateEstablishment1MayStoke Heath2MayStocken3MayLindholme4MayHighdown5MayLeeds6MayHighdown7MayWandsworth8MayWayland9MayIsis10MayNottingham11MayLiverpool12MayWerrington13MayLeeds14MayGlen Parva15MayDover16MayThe Mount17MayBuckley Hall18MayDurham19MayDoncaster20MayPentonville21MayFeatherstone22MayLincoln23MayLincoln24MayThe Mount25MayExeter26MayPreston27MayLindholme28MayWerrington29MayBullingdon30MayThe MountTotalMay30DateEstablishment1JuneHindley2JuneWayland3JuneWandsworth4JuneStocken5JuneLeicester6JuneWayland7JuneLowdham Grange8JuneGlen Parva9JuneLincoln10JuneHumber11JuneLindholme12JuneLincoln13JuneMoorland14JuneWormwood Scrubs15JuneLowdham Grange16JuneLeeds17JuneHighpoint18JuneLeeds19JuneChannings Wood20JuneLeeds21JuneStocken22JuneGlen Parva23JuneStocken24JuneSwaleside25JuneOnley26JuneChannings Wood27JuneIsis28JuneHumber29JuneHindley30JuneWandsworth31JuneIsis32JuneWetherby33JuneNorthumberland34JuneWoodhill35JuneWayland36JuneHighpoint37JuneWetherby38JuneFrankland39JuneGarth40JuneWandsworth41JuneColdingley42JuneFeltham43JuneGarthTotalJune43DateEstablishment1JulyHumber2JulyLittlehey3JulyWandsworth4JulyBristol5JulyWayland6JulySwaleside7JulyWandsworth8JulyPentonville9JulySwaleside10JulyLindholme11JulyNottingham12JulyLiverpool13JulyLancaster Farms14JulyDoncaster15JulyLeeds16JulySwaleside17JulyThe Mount18JulyHumber19JulyBuckley Hall20JulyEastwood Park21JulyHighdown22JulyPortland23JulyWoodhill24JulyChelmsford25JulyLancaster Farms26JulyParkhurst27JulySwaleside28JulyLowdham GrangeTotalJuly28DateEstablishment1AugustWandsworth2AugustGlen Parva3AugustIsis4AugustHewell5AugustWandsworth6AugustLowdham Grange7AugustManchester8AugustSwinfen Hall9AugustBrixton10AugustHewell11AugustFeatherstone12AugustBullingdon13AugustCardiff14AugustLeicester15AugustThe Mount16AugustHull17AugustParc18AugustThe Mount19AugustGuys Marsh20AugustLowdham Grange21AugustBullingdon22AugustRochester23AugustWayland24AugustParc25AugustBelmarsh26AugustMoorland27AugustBullingdon28AugustParc29AugustWerrington30AugustHewell31AugustWayland32AugustRanby33AugustLeicester34AugustWetherby35AugustDovegate36AugustManchester37AugustBronzefield38AugustBirmingham39AugustHighpointTotalAugust39DateEstablishment1SeptemberNottingham2SeptemberIsis3SeptemberParc4SeptemberHolme House5SeptemberManchester6SeptemberLewes7SeptemberRochester8SeptemberHewell9SeptemberThe Mount10SeptemberChelmsford11SeptemberHighpoint12SeptemberDoncaster13SeptemberLincoln14SeptemberGarth15SeptemberManchester16SeptemberWhitemoor17SeptemberWhatton18SeptemberWymott19SeptemberHighpoint20SeptemberBristol21SeptemberHaverigg22SeptemberLowdham Grange23SeptemberHumber24SeptemberLeicester25SeptemberIsis26SeptemberHindley27SeptemberExeter28SeptemberGlen Parva29SeptemberThe Mount30SeptemberFeltham31SeptemberHigh Down32SeptemberWayland33SeptemberDoncaster34SeptemberLindholme35SeptemberLowdham GrangeTotalSeptember35DateEstablishment1OctoberBrixton2OctoberErlestoke3OctoberStocken4OctoberDover5OctoberIsis6OctoberBedford7OctoberWormwood Scrubs8OctoberManchester9OctoberStocken10OctoberLeeds11OctoberWealstun12OctoberSwaleside13OctoberBristol14OctoberColdingley15OctoberWinchester16OctoberLowdham Grange17OctoberWinchester18OctoberGlen Parva19OctoberWayland20OctoberWandsworth21OctoberHighpoinnt22OctoberLancaster Farms23OctoberLowdham Grange24OctoberLindholme25OctoberMoorland26OctoberGartree27OctoberDoncaster28OctoberSwinfen Hall29OctoberBelmarsh30OctoberWinchester31OctoberFull Sutton32OctoberBrinsford33OctoberLeeds34OctoberBedford35OctoberManchesterTotalOctober35DateEstablishment1NovemberMoorland2NovemberWandsworth3NovemberDoncaster4NovemberPreston5NovemberWandsworth6NovemberSwansea7NovemberFeatherstone8NovemberIsis9NovemberGlen Parva10NovemberWandsworth11NovemberHumber12NovemberWerrington13NovemberBirmingham14NovemberMorton Hall15NovemberLeeds16NovemberMoorland17NovemberParc18NovemberLeicester19NovemberNottingham20NovemberBirmingham21NovemberLeeds22NovemberHumber23NovemberColnbrook24NovemberHumber25NovemberWetherby26NovemberLeeds27NovemberSwinfen Hall28NovemberWinchester29NovemberThameside30NovemberWayland31NovemberGlen Parva32NovemberCardiff33NovemberLewes34NovemberGlen Parva35NovemberGlen Parva36NovemberLindholme37NovemberThe Mount38NovemberDurhamTotalNovember381DecemberMoorland2DecemberWandsworth3DecemberBuckley Hall4DecemberManchester5DecemberHumber6DecemberWormwood Scrubs7DecemberDurham8DecemberElmley9DecemberHumberTotalDecember9

Mr Shailesh Vara: Any violence in prison is unacceptable - especially when it is directed at our hardworking staff.We have a zero tolerance approach to violence and work closely with the police on this issue. Those who are violent could face extra time behind bars. Anyone found to have broken prison rules will be stripped of their privileges and could have time added to their sentence.The following tables set out the occasions from 1st January 2015 until 9th December 2015 when the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) has been called out to public and private sector establishments.The information does not include aborted callouts.DateEstablishment1JanuaryOnley2JanuaryNorthumberland3JanuaryThe Mount4JanuaryPentonville5JanuaryGarth6JanuaryNorthumberland7JanuaryDurham8JanuaryLancaster Farms9JanuaryRanby10JanuaryFeltham11JanuaryMorton Hall12JanuaryStyalTotalJanuary121FebruaryRisley2FebruaryOakwood3FebruaryLindholme4FebruaryMoorland5FebruaryIsis6FebruaryLindholme7FebruaryLiverpool8FebruaryDeerbolt9FebruaryDurham10FebruaryChannings Wood11FebruaryLindholme12FebruaryBrinsford13FebruaryLindholme14FebruaryWetherby15FebruaryBullingdonTotalFebruary15Any violence in prison is unacceptable - especially when it is directed at our hardworking staffWe have a zero tolerance approach to violence and work closely with the police on this issue. Those who are violent could face extra time behind bars. Anyone found to have broken prison rules will be stripped of their privileges and could have time added to their sentenceThe following tables set out the occasions from 1st January 2015 until 9th December 2015 when the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) has been called out to public and private sector establishments.The information does not include aborted callouts.DateEstablishment1MarchRochester2MarchRochester3MarchPentonville4MarchWoodhill5MarchDoncaster6MarchWhitemoor7MarchDeerbolt8MarchLeicester9MarchWoodhill10MarchHigh Down11MarchLindholme12MarchIsis13MarchWandsworth14MarchPreston15MarchWandsworth16MarchLindholme17MarchWetherby18MarchWerrington19MarchDovegate20MarchHumber21MarchLeicester22MarchSwaleside23MarchBrixton24MarchDoncaster25MarchLindholme26MarchAylesbury27MarchHull28MarchNorthumberlandTotalMarch28DateEstablishment1AprilLindholme2AprilManchester3AprilDeerbolt4AprilGlen Parva5AprilBrixton6AprilLeicester7AprilGarth8AprilNottingham9AprilLiverpool10AprilBristol11AprilBristol12AprilLeeds13AprilStocken14AprilFeatherstone15AprilWerrington16AprilDovegate17AprilBirmingham18AprilNorthumberland19AprilNottingham20AprilWayland21AprilWayland22AprilStafford23AprilWetherby24AprilManchester25AprilHumber26AprilBristol27AprilLiverpoolTotalApril27DateEstablishment1MayStoke Heath2MayStocken3MayLindholme4MayHighdown5MayLeeds6MayHighdown7MayWandsworth8MayWayland9MayIsis10MayNottingham11MayLiverpool12MayWerrington13MayLeeds14MayGlen Parva15MayDover16MayThe Mount17MayBuckley Hall18MayDurham19MayDoncaster20MayPentonville21MayFeatherstone22MayLincoln23MayLincoln24MayThe Mount25MayExeter26MayPreston27MayLindholme28MayWerrington29MayBullingdon30MayThe MountTotalMay30DateEstablishment1JuneHindley2JuneWayland3JuneWandsworth4JuneStocken5JuneLeicester6JuneWayland7JuneLowdham Grange8JuneGlen Parva9JuneLincoln10JuneHumber11JuneLindholme12JuneLincoln13JuneMoorland14JuneWormwood Scrubs15JuneLowdham Grange16JuneLeeds17JuneHighpoint18JuneLeeds19JuneChannings Wood20JuneLeeds21JuneStocken22JuneGlen Parva23JuneStocken24JuneSwaleside25JuneOnley26JuneChannings Wood27JuneIsis28JuneHumber29JuneHindley30JuneWandsworth31JuneIsis32JuneWetherby33JuneNorthumberland34JuneWoodhill35JuneWayland36JuneHighpoint37JuneWetherby38JuneFrankland39JuneGarth40JuneWandsworth41JuneColdingley42JuneFeltham43JuneGarthTotalJune43DateEstablishment1JulyHumber2JulyLittlehey3JulyWandsworth4JulyBristol5JulyWayland6JulySwaleside7JulyWandsworth8JulyPentonville9JulySwaleside10JulyLindholme11JulyNottingham12JulyLiverpool13JulyLancaster Farms14JulyDoncaster15JulyLeeds16JulySwaleside17JulyThe Mount18JulyHumber19JulyBuckley Hall20JulyEastwood Park21JulyHighdown22JulyPortland23JulyWoodhill24JulyChelmsford25JulyLancaster Farms26JulyParkhurst27JulySwaleside28JulyLowdham GrangeTotalJuly28DateEstablishment1AugustWandsworth2AugustGlen Parva3AugustIsis4AugustHewell5AugustWandsworth6AugustLowdham Grange7AugustManchester8AugustSwinfen Hall9AugustBrixton10AugustHewell11AugustFeatherstone12AugustBullingdon13AugustCardiff14AugustLeicester15AugustThe Mount16AugustHull17AugustParc18AugustThe Mount19AugustGuys Marsh20AugustLowdham Grange21AugustBullingdon22AugustRochester23AugustWayland24AugustParc25AugustBelmarsh26AugustMoorland27AugustBullingdon28AugustParc29AugustWerrington30AugustHewell31AugustWayland32AugustRanby33AugustLeicester34AugustWetherby35AugustDovegate36AugustManchester37AugustBronzefield38AugustBirmingham39AugustHighpointTotalAugust39DateEstablishment1SeptemberNottingham2SeptemberIsis3SeptemberParc4SeptemberHolme House5SeptemberManchester6SeptemberLewes7SeptemberRochester8SeptemberHewell9SeptemberThe Mount10SeptemberChelmsford11SeptemberHighpoint12SeptemberDoncaster13SeptemberLincoln14SeptemberGarth15SeptemberManchester16SeptemberWhitemoor17SeptemberWhatton18SeptemberWymott19SeptemberHighpoint20SeptemberBristol21SeptemberHaverigg22SeptemberLowdham Grange23SeptemberHumber24SeptemberLeicester25SeptemberIsis26SeptemberHindley27SeptemberExeter28SeptemberGlen Parva29SeptemberThe Mount30SeptemberFeltham31SeptemberHigh Down32SeptemberWayland33SeptemberDoncaster34SeptemberLindholme35SeptemberLowdham GrangeTotalSeptember35DateEstablishment1OctoberBrixton2OctoberErlestoke3OctoberStocken4OctoberDover5OctoberIsis6OctoberBedford7OctoberWormwood Scrubs8OctoberManchester9OctoberStocken10OctoberLeeds11OctoberWealstun12OctoberSwaleside13OctoberBristol14OctoberColdingley15OctoberWinchester16OctoberLowdham Grange17OctoberWinchester18OctoberGlen Parva19OctoberWayland20OctoberWandsworth21OctoberHighpoinnt22OctoberLancaster Farms23OctoberLowdham Grange24OctoberLindholme25OctoberMoorland26OctoberGartree27OctoberDoncaster28OctoberSwinfen Hall29OctoberBelmarsh30OctoberWinchester31OctoberFull Sutton32OctoberBrinsford33OctoberLeeds34OctoberBedford35OctoberManchesterTotalOctober35DateEstablishment1NovemberMoorland2NovemberWandsworth3NovemberDoncaster4NovemberPreston5NovemberWandsworth6NovemberSwansea7NovemberFeatherstone8NovemberIsis9NovemberGlen Parva10NovemberWandsworth11NovemberHumber12NovemberWerrington13NovemberBirmingham14NovemberMorton Hall15NovemberLeeds16NovemberMoorland17NovemberParc18NovemberLeicester19NovemberNottingham20NovemberBirmingham21NovemberLeeds22NovemberHumber23NovemberColnbrook24NovemberHumber25NovemberWetherby26NovemberLeeds27NovemberSwinfen Hall28NovemberWinchester29NovemberThameside30NovemberWayland31NovemberGlen Parva32NovemberCardiff33NovemberLewes34NovemberGlen Parva35NovemberGlen Parva36NovemberLindholme37NovemberThe Mount38NovemberDurhamTotalNovember381DecemberMoorland2DecemberWandsworth3DecemberBuckley Hall4DecemberManchester5DecemberHumber6DecemberWormwood Scrubs7DecemberDurham8DecemberElmley9DecemberHumberTotalDecember9

Ministry of Justice: Secondment

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many secondments into his Department there were in each year since 2013; from which organisations each such person was seconded; and into which areas of his Department they were seconded.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The number of secondments into the Ministry of Justice for 2013-2015 is set out below.Secondment offers a chance for employees to develop skills and competencies through temporary placement in an external organisation. Secondments into the MOJ allow us to bring in new skills and expertise.For 2013, the total number of secondment was 58. For 2014 this was 60.January 2013 - December 2015Area Seconded FromMoJ Dept.Number of SecondmentsAssociation of Charitable OrganisationsNOMS1Barnsley Metropolitan councilMoJ HQ2British Broadcasting CorporationNOMS2Cabinet OfficeNOMS4Cambridgeshire Probation TrustNOMS1Cheshire PoliceMoJ HQ2Criminal Cases Review CommissionMoJ HQ2Cumbria and Lancashire CRCNOMS2Department of EducationNOMS2Department of HealthNOMS1Department of Work and PensionsNOMS5Derbyshire County CouncilMoJ HQ1Derbyshire County CouncilMoJ HQ1Devon & Cornwall Probation TrustMoJ HQ2Devon County CouncilMoJ HQ2Dorset Probation TrustMoJ HQ1Durham Tees Valley Probation TrustNOMS1Durham Tees Valley Probation TrustMoJ HQ1Essex CRCNOMS1Essex Probation TrustMoJ HQ2Essex Probation TrustNOMS1Her Majesty's Revenue and CustomsNOMS1Hertfordshire Probation TrustMoJ HQ1Home OfficeNOMS3Identity and Passport ServiceNOMS1Lancashire Probation TrustMoJ HQ2Legal Services CommissionMoJ HQ2Leicestershire and Rutland Probation TrustNOMS1Lincolnshire Probation TrustNOMS2Liverpool City CouncilNOMS3London CRCNOMS2London Probation TrustNOMS1London Probation TrustMoJ HQ3Ministry of DefenceNOMS1National Crime AgencyNOMS1Norfolk & Suffolk Probation ServiceMoJ HQ2Norfolk and Suffolk Probation TrustNOMS2Northampton CRCNOMS1Northamptonshire Probation TrustNOMS3Northumbria Probation TrustNOMS1Nottinghamshire Probation TrustNOMS4Office for National StatisticsNOMS3Parole BoardMoJ HQ2Rural Payments AgencyNOMS1Staffordshire & West Midlands Probation TrustMoJ HQ2Staffordshire and West Midlands CRCNOMS2Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation TrustNOMS2Surrey and Sussex Probation TrustMoJ HQ7SWM Probation TrustMoJ HQ1Thames Valley CRCNOMS1Thames Valley Probation TrustNOMS3UK Border AgencyNOMS1UnknownNOMS24Unknown CRCNOMS7Vehicle and Operator Services AgencyNOMS1VOSANOMS1Wales CRCNOMS6Wales Probation TrustMoJ HQ4Warwickshire Probation TrustMoJ HQ2West Mercia Probation TrustMoJ HQ3West Midlands PoliceNOMS3West Yorkshire CRCNOMS2West Yorkshire Probation TrustNOMS5Wiltshire CouncilMoJ HQ2Youth Justice BoardMoJ HQ2Total161The following caveats to the data should be noted:The Legal Aid Agency (Executive Agency of MoJ) was created on 1st April 2013, previously known as The Legal Services Commission (Non-Departmental Public Body of the MoJ - Public Sector). As a consequence any secondments from the Commission to MoJ would have been changed to Loans into the Department from 1st April 2013.Data on secondment sources that are incomplete are shown as an unknown entry. We are unable to verify if these are actual secondments and they could be defined as loans into the department.As with all HR databases, the data is dynamic and dependent on managers individually maintaining records. In addition, at the time of data extraction, some systems updates may not be reflected in past and future requests such as this.

Prison Service: Retirement

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been granted retirement on the grounds of ill health in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Prison Officers who have been granted retirement on the grounds of ill health by financial year from 2005/06 to 2015/16YearBand 5 OfficersBand 4 OfficersBand 3 Officers and Officer SpecialistsTotal2005/06~1070902006/07~1070802007/08~~30402008/09~1050702009/10~~80802010/11101060802011/12~20901102012/13~201101302013/14~101101202014/151030120150Apr-Sep 2015~106070 All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13605, on Tenancy Deposit Schemes, if he will provide that information for 2014-15.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Cemeteries

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on which local authorities have not implemented his Department's guidelines on the staking of graves in cemeteries.

Caroline Dinenage: The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information.

Burglary and Sexual Offences: Sentencing

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders were given non-custodial sentences for (a) burglary, (b) rape and (c) sexual assault in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Selous: Details of the number of offenders sentenced (with sentencing disposals, both custodial and non-custodial) at all courts for the above offences in each of the last 10 years can be found in the “outcomes by offence” table available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

Ministry of Defence

Military Decorations

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will introduce a National Defence Medal; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 December 2015 to Question 19127 to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Melanie Onn).



19127 - QnA extract on Veterans Military Honours
(Word Document, 15.23 KB)

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the likely financial benefit to the UK from sales of Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicles to other countries.

Mr Philip Dunne: Watchkeeper is being considered by other nations alongside other capabilities to fulfil their own defence requirements. The details of these negotiations are commercially sensitive.

Syria: Military Aircraft

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions (a) RAF Reapers, (b) RAF Tornados and (c) other RAF aircraft have come into radar contact with Russian military aircraft inside Syria since 30 September 2015.

Penny Mordaunt: We do not routinely collect information on radar contacts. It is inevitable when operating in the same airspace as other nations that RAF aircraft will come into radar contact with those nations. This is one of the ways in which the RAF, as part of the US-led coalition, ensures safe-separation of aircraft in Syrian airspace and enables the UK to continue to fly missions to help degrade and destroy Daesh.

USA: Military Aircraft

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on his Department leasing Lockheed Orion P-3 aircraft from the US administration.

Michael Fallon: I met Secretary Carter at the Pentagon on 11 December 2015 where we discussed our approach to delivering Maritime Patrol capability against the demanding timelines set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of eligible early service leavers have participated in the Early Service Leaver Programme of the Careers Transition Partnership in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: The Future Horizons Programme (FHP) for Early Service Leavers was introduced on 1 October 2013. Between 1 October 2013 and 31 March 2014 33% of eligible personnel participated in the FHP. During 2014-15 62% of eligible personnel participated in the FHP. Data prior to this date is not held as there was no requirement to collate this information prior to October 2013. However all Early Service Leavers prior to October 2013 were entitled to unit level support as part of standard Ministry of Defence policy.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of those eligible service personnel who have left the armed forces have participated in the Core Programme of the Careers Transition Partnership in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: Personnel with at least six years' Service are eligible for the Core Resettlement Programme (CRP). The latest information held on eligible personnel that have participated in the CRP is as at 31 March 2014. Between 2010-11 and 2013-14 the following percentage of eligible personnel have participated in the CRP:2010-11 - 76%2011-12 - 74%2012-13 - 74%2013-14 - 72%Some of the personnel eligible for the CRP may choose to use the Employment Support Programme instead.Figures presented for 2013-14 are provisional as personnel can receive Careers Transition Partnership resettlement services up to two years before and after leaving the UK Armed Forces. Figures are revised annually in the Official Statistic publication with figures being fixed after two years.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of those eligible service personnel who have left the armed forces have participated in the Employment Support Programme of the Careers Transition Partnership in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: Personnel with between four and six years of Service are eligible for the Employment Support Programme (ESP). The latest information held on eligible personnel that have participated in the ESP is as at 31 March 2014.Between 2010-11 and 2013-14 the following percentage of the total Armed Forces outflow have participated in the ESP:2010-11 - 10%2011-12 - 6%2012-13 - 6%2013-14 - 8%Figures presented for 2013-14 are provisional as personnel can receive Careers Transition Partnership resettlement services up to two years before and after leaving the UK Armed Forces. Figures are revised annually in the Official Statistic publication with figures being fixed after two years.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of those eligible service personnel who have left the armed forces have participated in the Specialist Support Programme of the Careers Transition Partnership in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: Information is held on personnel that have participated in the Specialist Support Programme (SSP) (formerly the Recovery Careers Service and now called CTP Assist) for the period 1 April 2013 - 30 September 2014. Data prior to this date is not held as there was no requirement to collate this information prior to April 2013.All eligible individuals who require support from the SSP are referred to it. Between 2013-14 and 2014-15 the following numbers of personnel have participated in the SSP:2013-14 - 3,0002014-15 (1 April 2014 - 30 September 2014) - 1,960

Armed Forces: Discharges

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of former members of the armed forces who participated in the the Careers Transition Partnership found sustainable employment within six months of leaving the armed forces in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: The latest information held on personnel that have participated in the Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) is as at 31 March 2014. Between 2010-11 and 2013-14 the following percentage of personnel who participated in the CTP found sustainable employment within six months of leaving the Armed Forces:2010-11 - 85%2011-12 - 85%2012-13 - 83%2013-14 - 84%Figures presented for 2013-14 are provisional as personnel can receive CTP resettlement services up to two years before and after leaving the UK Armed Forces. Figures are revised annually in the Official Statistic publication with figures being fixed after two years.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many early service leavers received the basic settlement package in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: We do not recognise the term basic settlement package, but have interpreted this as meaning the Early Service Leaver provision prior to October 2013. Data is not held as there was no requirement to collate this information prior to October 2013. However all Early Service Leavers prior to October 2013 were entitled to unit level support as part of standard Ministry of Defence policy.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many early service leavers received the increased settlement package in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: We do not recognise the term increased settlement package, but have interpreted this as meaning the Early Service Leaver provision (termed the Future Horizons Programme with effect from October 2013):FY 2013-14 (October 2013 - March 2014) - 806FY 2014-15 (April 2014 - March 2015) - 2,254FY 2015-16 (April 2015 - 15 December 2015)(includes CTP Future Horizons with effect from 1 October 2015) – 1,906

Defence Equipment: Procurement

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the equipment procured by his Department was sourced from UK small and medium-sized enterprises in each year between 2010 and 2015.

Mr Philip Dunne: Cabinet Office Data published in February 2015 shows that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) combined direct and indirect expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a proportion of total procurement spend was 19.4%. This represents some £3.9 billion in 2013-14 and £3.8 billion in 2014-15.The MOD published details of its direct contracts with SMEs in the Finance and Economics Annual Statistical Bulletin: Trade Industry and Contracts. Details for each year since financial year 2010-11 can be found at the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015It should be noted that the statistics are for all contracts placed with SMEs, including those for equipment and other services.It is the MOD's ambition to spend 25% both directly and indirectly with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.

NATO: Ballistic Missile Defence

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's planned contributions are to the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence network in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence network in each of the last five years; and how much it plans to spend on that network in each of the next five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The UK's contribution to the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence network for future years will form part of our contribution to NATO in accordance with our agreed cost share. As outlined in the SDSR, we will support research, development initiatives and multinational engagement through the UK's Missile Defence Centre. The specific expenditure for the years requested has not yet been identified

Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Boeing P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft he expects to enter service in 2019-20.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence is currently engaged in detailed negotiations on the Boeing P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft. As the Prime Minister announced to the House on 23 November 2015 (Official Report, column 1059), we intend for at least three of the aircraft to be in place by the end of the Parliament.

HMS Victory

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance his Department is providing to the National Museum of the Royal Navy in making urgent repairs to HMS Victory.

Mr Philip Dunne: In March 2012 the custodianship of HMS Victory transferred to the HMS Victory Preservation Company, a charitable trust established as part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) to ensure the preservation of the ship for future generations.Part of this arrangement was a £25 million grant from the Ministry of Defence matched by a similar grant from the Gosling Foundation. The Heritage Lottery Fund contributed an addition £5 million from its Catalyst Fund. These funds form an endowment for the maintenance of the vessel. The NMRN continues to receive Grant in Aid from the Royal Navy, but the maintenance and repair of the ship is the responsibility of the Museum and the Trust.

Shipbuilding: Employment

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many shipbuilding jobs will be supported by the construction of each of the (a) eight Type 26 anti-submarine frigates that are scheduled to be ordered and (b) proposed five new frigates to be developed under the new light frigate programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: We have begun the detailed work to take forward the Type 26 Global Combat Ship and the new general purpose frigate programmes outlined in the White Paper 'National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cmd 9161)'. It is too early to say how many jobs will be sustained by these programmes.

Ministry of Defence: Bye Laws

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons his Department has not conducted economic impact assessments on proposed by-law changes (a) in general and (b) regarding the Raasay ranges.

Mark Lancaster: Under the byelaws review process there is no specific requirement to carry out an economic impact assessment.Following input received as part of the recent byelaw consultation process and due to local concerns, an economic impact assessment is currently being undertaken regarding Raasay Ranges. Its scope will reflect the MOD policy for such reports.

Armed Forces Covenant: Northern Ireland

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding has been received by organisations in Northern Ireland from the Community Covenant Grant Scheme.

Mark Lancaster: All of the applications from Northern Ireland under the first round of the 2015-16 Small Grant Covenant Grant Scheme were successful, amounting to just over £35,000. This is in addition to the £80,000 already awarded under the now closed Community Covenant Grant Scheme.This funding is in addition to the £35 million of Libor money which the Chancellor agreed to transfer to support the Armed Forces community. The fund has supported 96 charities and good causes in a variety of ways across the UK. We anticipate that the Armed Forces community in Northern Ireland will benefit from a number of UK-wide projects which have received funding.

Ministry of Defence: Industrial Health and Safety

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many dangerous occurrences were reported by his Department to the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last five years; and how many of those incidents involved the unplanned or faulty discharge of a weapon.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many health and safety near misses were reported by his Department in each of the last five years; and how many of those near misses involved the unplanned or faulty discharge of a weapon.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which weapons were identified in health and safety dangerous occurrences reported by his Department involving an unplanned or faulty discharge in each of the last five years; and how many such incidents there were for each of those weapons in each of those years.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which weapons were identified in health and safety near misses reported by his Department involving an unplanned or faulty discharge in each of the last five years; and how many such near misses there were for each of those weapons in each of the those years.

Mark Lancaster: We are investigating the compilation of the requested statistics and I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

Department for Work and Pensions

Unemployment Benefits

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times claimants of working age on unemployment benefits have been interviewed under caution by staff of his Department in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel: We do not hold official statistics to the National Statistical Authority and so we are unable to provide this information.

UK Advisory Forum on Ageing

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to seek the views of pensioners on (a) his Department's policies and (b) winter fuel allowance since the closure of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing.

Justin Tomlinson: The UK Advisory Forum on Ageing closed on 2nd December 2015. Since then the Department has continued to work with older people, employers, the financial services industry and other stakeholders on issues such as simplifying automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, the introduction of the new State Pension, and fuller working lives. For example, the Department has conducted structured research into the attitudes of people over 50 to fuller working lives, the new State Pension, and Class 3A Voluntary National Insurance Contributions. The Department is also working with the Money Matters Working Group of the Age Action Alliance on increasing take-up of benefits by older people, and especially take-up of Pension Credit.With specific regard to the Winter Fuel Payment, the Government has committed to help provide dignity and security in retirement by protecting it and other pensioner benefits, such as free bus passes, for the lifetime of this Parliament. Where issues arise linked to older people and fuel poverty, both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Energy and Climate Change are active members of the Safe, Warm Homes Working Group of the Age Action Alliance, which is a valuable forum for both developing both policy and innovative ways of delivering support and advice to older people.

Help to Work Scheme

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on the Mandatory Work Activity scheme in each of the last four years.

Priti Patel: The Department’s expenditure in respect of Mandatory Work Activity in each of the last four financial years is as follows:2011-12 £9.2m2012-13 £13.7m2013-14 £15.0m2014-15 £12.8m

Occupational Health

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what ways he plans to expand the Fit for Work service.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding has been allocated to the Fit for Work service for the current financial year; and whether the Government plans to increase that amount.

Justin Tomlinson: Fit for Work is now fully rolled out across Great Britain. All employers and GPs are able to refer employees who are on sick leave for four weeks or more, to get a work-related health assessment and help them return to work sooner.The Department does not routinely publish funding allocations. However, Fit for Work has been provided with sufficient funding to meet its demands for 2015/16, this financial year. Outturn spending will be detailed in DWP’s published Annual Report and Accounts. Departmental funding for future years has been settled by HMT.

Occupational Health

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent staff are employed by the Fit for Work service as case managers; and whether the Government plans to increase this number.

Justin Tomlinson: At 30th November 66.7 full-time equivalent staff are employed by the Fit for Work Service as case managers in England and Wales and 24.8 in Scotland. It is expected that numbers will increase in line with demand.

Occupational Health

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what qualifications are required of case managers employed by the Fit for Work service.

Justin Tomlinson: Fit for Work is delivered by health professionals who have an occupational health qualification; occupational health experience; or are able to demonstrate experience and skills appropriate to working in an occupational health context. Health professionals must be registered with the relevant regulatory and/or professional body on the appropriate part(s) of its registers. Fit for Work has an accredited Specialist in Occupational Medicine to provide clinical supervision of the service and provides appropriate supervision from more experienced professionals from whom they can seek advice.

Occupational Health

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is provided to case managers employed by the Fit for Work service.

Justin Tomlinson: Case managers receive comprehensive training relevant to the duties they are required to deliver through the Fit for Work service. Health professionals have supervision from experienced professionals from whom they can seek advice. Fit for Work has in place a clinical governance framework to provide oversight of all aspects of clinical service delivery. Fit for Work also ensures health professionals participate in a programme of continuing professional development.Continuous training and development occurs on a one to one basis as part of quality assurance.

Occupational Health

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued to Fit for Work case managers on carrying out assessments of patients referred to the service.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued to Fit for Work case managers on the content of Return to Work plans drafted for patients referred to the service.

Justin Tomlinson: The contract for Fit for Work is published on the Contracts Finder website and can be accessed at https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/1516765/Guidance to the provider addresses the negative impact of sickness absence on individuals, employers and the State with the aim to reduce the length of sickness absence and the chances of falling out of work and on to benefits.It specifies that the Return to Work Plan takes into account health related issues, workplace issues and non-health/non-work related issues that do, or could, prevent the employee from returning to work.

Occupational Health

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many referrals have been made by (a) GPs and (b) employers to the Fit for Work service since its launch; and how many such referrals have resulted in a Return to Work plan being agreed with the patient.

Justin Tomlinson: Latest figures show there have been 2,441 GP referrals and 1,301 employer referrals with 1,451 Return to Work Plans agreed.

Occupational Health

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Return to Work plans produced by the Fit for Work service made recommendations to employers which were accepted in full since the launch of that service.

Justin Tomlinson: The number and proportion of Return to Work Plans produced by the Fit for Work service that made recommendations to employers which were accepted in full is not readily available and to provide the information requested would incur disproportionate cost.

Occupational Health

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls have been made to the Fit for Work helpline in each month since its launch.

Justin Tomlinson: The number of calls made to the Fit for Work helpline each month since the launch of the service is :December 201454January 2015198February 2015316March 2015364April 2015331May 2015408June 2015501July 2015602August 2015653September 2015852October 2015965November 20151084

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many full-time equivalent Environment Agency staff were employed on maintenance of flood defences on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government has committed to protect flood maintenance funding in real terms over the course of this Parliament.The Environment Agency does not record the number of personnel working solely on maintaining flood defences, as the relevant staff undertake a number of activities, including both operating and maintaining defences. Maintenance may also be performed by third parties.

Agriculture

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support farmers to invest in new capital equipment.

George Eustice: Investment in the agriculture sector is an important driver to improving its productivity and growth. To support this, the Government has a range of tax and subsidy measures in place.The Annual Investment Allowance is at its highest ever permanent level of £200,000, with effect from 1 January 2016. This is of particular benefit to firms investing heavily in plant and machinery, such as those in the agricultural sector. From April 2016, self-employed farmers will be able to average their profits for Income Tax purposes for two years or five years. This will enable farmers to spread volatile profits further and better plan their investments.The Government also supports the agricultural sector through direct recognition of any actual depreciation in the capital gains tax computation at the point of sale. Agricultural land and buildings remain subject to a number of tax reliefs and exemptions including exemptions from business rates, agricultural property relief from inheritance tax and capital gains rollover relief on developed agricultural land.The Government also supports investment in the agricultural sector through capital grants under the Rural Development Programme. This is primarily through the Countryside Productivity scheme, focusing on innovative investment that will lead to a step change in productivity.

Pest Control: Licensing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many general licences for pest control have been issued in each of the last five years.

Rory Stewart: In each of the last five years, four general licences have been issued for the purposes of pest control.

Lynx

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with (a) the Countryside Alliance, (b) landowners and (c) BASE on introduction of the lynx into the countryside.

Rory Stewart: Defra has had no discussions with landowners or representatives of Countryside Alliance and BASC about the reintroduction of lynx.

Floods

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to limit the damage to local communities and economies from flooding.

Rory Stewart: We are investing an unprecedented £2.3 billion in 1,500 flood defence improvement schemes over the next six years. This will provide better protection to at least 300,000 households, up to 420,000 acres of agricultural land, over 200 miles of railway and 340 miles of roads.In addition, flood maintenance spending will be protected in real terms over this Parliament.Over the five years of the last Parliament, our flood defences schemes have better protected over 255,000 households.This is on top of the £1.7 billion invested in the last Parliament and the £1.5 billion spent between 2006 and 2010.

Floods

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to respond to the increase in the number of flood related emergencies.

Rory Stewart: We have announced a National Resilience Review to better protect the country from future flooding and increasingly extreme weather events. The Review will consider how we calculate flood risk in light of recent events, and will be delivered by a new cross-Government team.The Review will also cover ‘worst case scenario’ planning and the future impacts of climate change. It will also carry out a risk assessment of critical infrastructure like electricity substations.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Official Hospitality

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has served any French cheeses at receptions within that Department in the last five years.

George Eustice: No French cheese has been served at receptions held by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the last five years.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to make the certification process for the Basic Payment Scheme more efficient for farmers; and if she will include further accountability bodies who are able to certify active farmer status to improve efficiency of that scheme.

George Eustice: We are considering what changes are required to the administration of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) next year, taking into account the feedback we have received from farmers and experience from the first year of implementation.

Pet Travel Scheme

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with UK Border on the effectiveness of the implementation of the pet travel scheme.

George Eustice: Defra is working closely with Border Force to agree a framework for co-operation to ensure the effective enforcement of legislation relating to biosecurity risks, including the illegal importation of animals.My officials have advised Border Force that we will be seeking their support in planned discussions with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and local authorities to explore ways in which we can improve enforcement of these controls at the border.

Home Office

Refugees: Syria

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding will be provided to local authorities for each Syrian refugee they resettle in the (a) first and (b) second year of resettlement.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 17 December 2015



Local authorities are required to provide refugees they resettle under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme with a 12 month support package which is being funded using the overseas aid budget. Many of the refugees have significant medical and social care needs, and the costs therefore vary according to their individual circumstances.At the Spending Review, the Government committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years 2-5 of the scheme. This will be allocated on a tariff basis over four years, with £5,000 per refugee provided for their second year in the UK.

National Crime Agency

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16286 of 18 November 2015, on the National Crime Agency (NCA), how many of those suspicious activity reports were investigated by the NCA.

Mike Penning: Suspicious activity reports (SARs) submitted under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Terrorism Act 2000 are available to officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and to accredited officers in all UK police forces. This allows NCA officers and the police to use SARs for a variety of investigative and intelligence purposes.No central record is held relating to the ultimate use of SAR data by these end users and therefore no data is available relating to how many investigations or enforcement actions may have resulted from SARs.A report providing an overview of the operation of the SARs regime is published annually on the NCA website, the link to the latest report is below:http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/suspicious-activity-reports-sars

Refugees: Syria

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities have agreed to take refugees under the Syrian Refugee resettlement scheme.

Richard Harrington: Over 50 local authorities from across the UK have offered places to resettle refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme. It is at the discretion of local authorities to disclose whether or not they are involved with the VPR scheme.

Immigration Bill: Impact Assessments

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will publish its equality impact assessment of the Immigration Bill.

James Brokenshire: The Government has already published a number of equality impact assessments relating to the Immigration Bill covering residential tenancies, driving, banks, appeals and support. They can be found online:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-bill-2015-16Further equality statements in relation to labour market enforcement and the English language requirement in the public sector will be published in the New Year together with the Government’s responses to the recent public consultations on these subjects.

Ports: Surveillance

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will establish a Coastal Watch of volunteers who can work alongside police and other agencies to report unusual or suspicious activities in the UK's harbours and ports.

James Brokenshire: National Crime Agency, police, and Border Force have established Project Kraken, an initiative aimed at increasing public vigilance on matters related along the UK’s coastal and maritime security. Project Kraken encourages the public to report any unusual or suspicious behaviour in harbours, ports and other maritime environments.In addition, Border Force is already working closely with the National Coastwatch Institution volunteer network. The network use their expert knowledge of the maritime environment to spot and report unusual or suspicious activities along the coastline. Any such information is provided directly to the National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) which is a cross-government organisation that is focussed on sharing intelligence concerning maritime security issues. Border Force is actively exploring similar arrangements with other maritime related organisations

Firearms: Seized Articles

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal firearms were seized in each of the last five years; and how many of those were (a) pistols, (b) rifles, (c) shotguns and (d) machine guns.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's most recent estimate is of the number of illegal firearms in the UK.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not maintain records of firearms seized by police forces in England and Wales.The National Ballistics Intelligence Service regularly assesses the volume and type of illegal firearms in use in the UK. The information is operationally sensitive and is not suitable for release.

Visas: Married People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for spouses seeking visas to undertake English language tests.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office is not aware of any issues with regards to waiting times for Secure English Language Testing (SELT).In the UK, customers should be able to book a test within 28 days, often within a few days. In countries where there are permanent test centres customers should again be able to book tests within 28 days. In busy periods, the centres will test more frequently.

Police: Health

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve the personal fitness and health of police officers.

Mike Penning: The Winsor review of police officer and staff pay and conditions, which the Home Secretary commissioned, recommended in March 2012 that fitness testing should be introduced. Following consideration by the Police Advisory Board, mandatory fitness testing was implemented on 1 September 2014.The management of initiatives that support officers to improve fitness is a matter for individual police forces and the College of Policing has issued guidance in this area.

Immigration: Australasia and Canada

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18261, if she will make an assessment of the net contribution to the UK economy made by immigration from Australia, Canada and New Zealand in the last five years before proceeding with her Department's proposals to restrict access to Tier 2 visas for Australian and New Zealand citizens.

James Brokenshire: There are no plans to introduce Tier 2 restrictions specifically aimed at Australian, New Zealand and/or Canadian citizens.The Government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on restricting Tier 2 to genuine skills shortages and jobs which require highly-specialised experts, but with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers. The MAC is looking at selection criteria such as, but not limited to, salaries, particular attributes, economic need and skills level. The Government has asked the MAC to consider the economic impact of potential changes.The MAC is still finalising its report and we do not yet know what its findings and recommendations will be. We await the report with interest and will consider the potential economic impacts carefully before making any significant changes to the Tier 2 route.

Employment: Crime

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the Government's response to the consultation on tackling exploitation in the labour market before the Immigration Bill completes its passage through Parliament.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 17 December 2015



The consultation on tackling exploitation in the labour market closed on Monday 7 December. The Government will publish its response shortly.

Refugees

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her oral contribution of 16 November 2015, Official Report, column 365, if she will bring forward proposals on a national database of communication for refugees.

James Brokenshire: On 7 September the Prime Minister announced that 20,000 Syrian refugees would be resettled during this Parliament, and that he wanted 1,000 to arrive before Christmas. We have now achieved this, and are working closely with a range of partners to put in place the plans and structures to further expand the Syrian Vulnerable Persons scheme.It is currently up to individuals to determine how to maintain contact with other refugees in the UK; however, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) does link family groups so we can seek to allocate them to the same local authority. We also try and place them close to any family members already residing in the UK.

HM Treasury

Apprentices: Taxation

Jo Stevens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether employers that have offshored their company payroll will be required to pay the apprenticeship levy.

Greg Hands: Further details of how the Apprenticeship Levy will operate will be set out in the Finance Bill and draft clauses will be published early in 2016.

Cabinet Office

Electronic Government

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to raise the level of skills and technical capability in the civil service to support the Government's digital transformation programme.

Matthew Hancock: The Government Digital Servicehavesupported departments to recruit nearly 200 senior digital and technology experts. Through those appointments, we have helped to establish senior leadership across government that is able to deliver digital and technology transformation.They have established strong knowledge and expertise within government to support us to make better technology choices, supported by networks of digital and technology leaders. More broadly, improving the digital skills of the Civil Service is an important and ongoing task.

Electronic Government

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what technology platforms and services the Government plans to develop as part of the (a) Government as a Platform and (b) Common Technology Services strategy to support the digital transformation of public services; and if he will make a statement.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the £450 million funding allocated to the Government Digital Service in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 will be spent; and what the priorities for the Government Digital Service will be over the next (a) 12 and (b) 24 months.

Matthew Hancock: The Government Digital Service will continue to act as the digital centre for government, supporting departments as they conduct their business transformation.They have already created platforms to solve common problems faced across government such as GOV.UK, the Digital Marketplace and GOV.UKVerify. In addition they are doing this by establishing Common Technology Services for civil servants - this will deliver new, flexible, common technology, opening up government contracts to more suppliers - saving time and money.They are also creatinga payments platform for people to pay government the same way and a platform for digital communications making it easier to be able to message government, track the status of their registrations and applications and receive notifications.

Electronic Government

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made on the GOV.UK Verify programme; and what plans the Government has to develop it further in the future.

Matthew Hancock: GOV.UKVerify is currently in public beta and is constantly being improved and expanded based on user feedback. The current demographic coverage is 80%.It is now possible to verify your identity using a wide range of evidence, including any passport, any EU identity document, and any bank account or payment card.

Department of Health

UK Parkinson's Excellence Network

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the UK Parkinson's Excellence Network.

Jane Ellison: No discussions have taken place between the Ministers of the Department and the UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published the guidance Parkinson's disease in over 20s: diagnosis and management in June 2006, available at:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg35The guidance advises that people with Parkinson’s disease should have a comprehensive care plan agreed between the individual, their family and/or carers and specialist and secondary healthcare providers and that people with Parkinson’s disease should be offered an accessible point of contact with specialist services. This could be provided by a Parkinson's disease nurse specialist.

UK Advisory Forum on Ageing

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to seek the views of pensioners on (a) his Department's policies and (b) dementia since the closure of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing.

Alistair Burt: We are committed to continuing to listen to and act on the wishes of older people. For example the Department plans to carry out an engagement programme with stakeholder groups representing older people as part of the forthcoming Carer’s Strategy.The Government is clear that dementia remains a priority and will implement the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 in full to make sure that dementia care, support, awareness and research are transformed by 2020. The 2020 Challenge aims to build on the achievements of the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2012-2015.The Department continues to engage with a range of people with dementia and carers including stakeholders who represent them in both delivering the Prime Minister’s Challenge 2012-2015 and in developing and implementing the Prime Minister’s Challenge 2020. The Department also works closely people with dementia and carers through its work with the Dementia Action Alliance.The Department has funded a number of projects on dementia education and training which have worked directly with people with dementia, in order to better understand the training needs of the staff who support and care for them.More generally through the Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partner Programme, the Department, NHS England and Public Health England are already able to work directly in partnership with well-connected voluntary sector organisations. The programme provides a way for policy makers to reach thousands of voluntary and community sector organisations. Many of these groups whom support and represent older people within their communities through the extensive depth and reach of the partners’ networks. This helps to ensure that the voice of small voluntary and community sector organisations is in direct contact with national bodies at the heart of decision making. Age UK is one of the 22 strategic partners, ensuring that older people’s needs are strongly represented.

Four Seasons Health Care

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with Four Seasons Health Care on the financial sustainability of that provider.

Alistair Burt: Up to September 2015, officials from the Department met with representatives from the five largest residential care providers on a quarterly basis to understand their financial position. This included Four Seasons Health Care. From September 2015, responsibility for overseeing the finances of these providers passed on to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Market Oversight team. CQC can confirm that it is operating the Market Oversight Regime in line with the published guidance ‘Market Oversight of difficult to replace providers of adult social care’ that can be found on CQC’s website at: http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/market-oversight-adult-social-care

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department plans to spend on armed forces veterans' mental health services in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of his Department's planned £8.4 million expenditure on armed  forces veterans' mental health services will be spent in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20; and in what areas of mental health services that funding will be spent in each of those years.

Alistair Burt: NHS England has £1.8 million per annum baseline (recurrent to 2019/20) funding for veterans mental health services. This funding is used to provide 10 veterans mental health teams across England to meet locally identified needs of veterans and manage the network of providers of National Health Service commissioned veterans mental health services.The funding also provides access for veterans to on-line mental health counselling services provided by the Big White Wall.In addition, NHS England provides £3.2 million a year to commission the Armed Forces service charity Combat Stress to provide specialised inpatient services for the treatment of complex post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).In 2014/15 additional funding of £1.68 million was used to fund three pilots to develop and test enhanced models of care for veterans.The pilots will:develop a joint substance misuse and mental health service model for veterans;an outpatient service for veterans with moderate to severe PTSD; anddevelop a modal of care to address the barriers that some veterans experience in accessing mental health services.NHS England will soon commence a consultation to explore the future service needs for veterans mental health services. Future procurement will depend upon the outcome of this consultation as services will be commissioned to take account of revised needs assessments.Veterans are also able to access the full range of NHS mental health services in the same way as the wider public.

Ritalin

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with clinical bodies on the approach in the NHS to prescribing Ritalin for children with ADHD.

Alistair Burt: It is not appropriate for the Department of Health to be involved in operational decisions relating to the prescribing of methylphenidate (for which Ritalin is a trade name) in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. That is a matter for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which is currently revising guidance on the use of methylphenidate and will be consulting widely on that new guidance which is expected in 2018.It is not appropriate for the Department of Health to be involved in operational decisions relating to the prescribing of methylphenidate (for which Ritalin is a trade name) in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. That is a matter for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which is currently revising guidance on the use of methylphenidate and will be consulting widely on that new guidance which is expected in 2018.

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England will publish the findings of the Mazars review into the deaths of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Alistair Burt: I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 December 2015, HCWS421. NHS England published the Mazars report on Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust on 17 December 2015. The report is available on the NHS England website.

Prisons: Mental Health Services

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prisoners were awaiting initial psychiatric assessment (a) on the last date for which figures are available and (b) in each month of the last three years.

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average time was that prisoners with mental illness waited for transfer to an appropriate health setting in the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: Data are not collected centrally on the number of prisoners waiting for an initial psychiatric assessment. Data on prisoners in receipt of an assessment and awaiting transfer to secure hospitals under sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983 are collected by NHS England since April 2015, through Health and Justice Indicators of Performance (HJIPs) and available data are shown in the attached table, Health and Justice Indicators of Performance – Mental Health Secure Assessment and Transfer. NHS England intends to publish HJIP data online from April 2016.



Mental health assessment and transfer
(Excel SpreadSheet, 19.01 KB)